The Foley Police Department called the Foley Fire Department at 1:53 a.m. Friday.

"While they were out on another call, they observed signs of a fire in an apartment," Darby said. "They investigated it and did find a fire in that apartment."

Officers futilely attempted to get inside the apartment with the help of a maintenance man who had a master key, Darby said.

"The fire conditions were really keeping them from getting in there," Darby said. We got there pretty quick thereafter. We made the entry and got her out of there."

The woman was lying near the doorway.

She was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital, the chief said.

The woman suffered some burns as a result of the fire, Coroner Stan Vinson said.

Firefighters were able to stop the fire from spreading to nearby apartments, but there was some minor smoke damage in the apartments, Darby said.

Residents had to wait outside in cold weather as firefighters fought the blaze.

"Obviously, in the middle of the night, it was about 30 degrees," Darby said. "We had some concerns for their safety just being out in the elements. We got all the residents back in by about 4 o'clock this morning."